How it all began...
Ag Heritage began life in 1976 as the ClydesdaleMuseum, and was established through the support of local businesses and hard work of many volunteers. The collection of heavy-horse equipment and farming memorabilia was housed in Bledisloe Hall, which originally stood in Garden Place, Hamilton, but was dismantled and moved in pieces to its new home at Mystery Creek.
In its first years 100,000 people per year visited the ClydesdaleMuseum, and for many years it was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, expanding to include the Village, Fire Station, and the NationalDairyMuseum in 1979.
In 1985 Farmworld was opened in the Dome, a multi-media and live animal show depicting modern farming techniques and showcasing different breeds of animals. By 1991 the emphasis had shifted to education, families, and school groups under the banner of the Agriculural Heritage committee.
HeritageVillage
- Schoolhouse - Originally built in 1912 as the MonavaleSchool, the schoolhouse was moved to Whitehall in 1931. After 45 years of use, a modern open plan school was built and this building was relocated to the HeritageVillage.
- Hospital – In 1889 the Waikato Hospital Board established this homestead on a 50 acre block of land as the first WaikatoHospital. The first patient was James J Daley from Alexandra (Pirongia) on 17 May 1887, whose hand was shattered by a gun barrel bursting. The hospital was moved to the HeritageVillage in the 1970’s.
- Church - Built in 1924, this was the first church in Ngatea. In 1966 the church became a combined parish joining Presbyterians and Methodists. In 1976 the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists joined to form the Hauraki Plains Cooperating Parish. Early in 1979 the church building was purchased for $527 and was moved to Mystery Creek. It was rededicated on 6 October 1991.
- Jail - Built in the late 1800's as the Karangahake Gorge Jail. Following the discovery of gold in the Karangahake Gorge in 1875, a thriving community was established. As the gold dwindled, miners and their families relocated, and over a period of years Karangahake township has almost disapeared. In the 1970's the jail was moved to its present site in the HeritageVillage.
National Dairy Museum
The DairyMuseum opened as a part of the ClydesdaleMuseum in 1979 with sponsorship from the NZ Dairy Board. Over the years it expanded to include a large collection of dairy equipment, herd testing equipment, separators, and many donations from around New Zealand provided new buildings and exhibits. Approval had been gained from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to use the title ‘National’. In November 2006, the National Dairy Museum reopened in a brand new facility with the space to display all artifacts in an attractive, interactive and educational setting.
FireMuseum
A fire section was set up as part of the ClydesdaleMuseum, with fundraising enabling the purchase of several early fire engines, and an official opening in November 1978. Members of the Fire Section came to the rescue one Fieldays when a fire was discovered in the AFFCO exhibit, and was brought under control long before the ‘real’fire engines arrived.
DC3 Top Dressing Plane
The DC3 Highland Duster was purchased by James Aviation Ltd from the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It had been used to train 150 pilots and later dropped supplies into Wyngato Raiders in Burma. It was also used as baggage plane for Royal Visit in 1953. Converted to a top dressing plane in 1954-55, it commenced top-dressing 1 Dec 1955, and during its life flew 14,040 hours of service. Approximately 10,000 of these were top-dressing, spreading 160,000 tons of fertilizer over 1,120,000 acres of land. The Highland Duster was taken out of service in October 1974, and later donated to Ag Heritage by James Aviation Ltd.
